MLM

Have always been skeptical about MLM.

Especially with so many under negative limelight these days

But yesterday I went for one of those "tours" or introduction to their "business plan"

Not that I was aware that I was about to visit one of the much-mentioned MLM 

But my friend got me to meet her up to introduce to me this business and see if I would actually be interested to join her

I was told to meet her at Kaki Bukit, that was when I first got a hint that it might be the LFI (another friend asked me about it 1 year plus ago but I didn't even go)

I didn't really think much about it because we met up at Enterprise One building, which was a organisation based on SME.

So we walked all the way in to a deeper location at the LFI headquarter.

That was when I had a faint recollection of the company's name

To be honest, I was rather turned off by MLM due to the bad light on it.

However, I thought, since I already made my way there, why not keep an open mind and see what it has to offer.

Or rather

I want to listen and experience the process that made so many young adults commit to the idea of MLM.

First, before I even step into the building, my friend actually asked whether I have a dream(i.e. to earn 10k at age of 24 etc.)

Then we went in and she showed me the APEA which Eldee Tang (their boss) got for setting up LFI.
With it came along the endorsements from celebrities and artistes of all sorts.
Both regional and local celebrities featuring in their ad
Following which she introduced me to many of their top earners, and the Car award recepients
Basically those people hit a target quota in terms of sales and recruitment and are given a car by the company.

Next, I took a mini tour around the facility which was pretty minimalistic.
Simple rooms, door and many training rooms.
Nothing particularly fanciful.
After that I had to sit in for this talk by one of their "directors"
Directors are not referred in the commonly used term.
But rather these people are the high achievers, with good sales and are able to recruit and train a decent group of downlines. (they call it a team, but i really don't see how they work together)

So me, my friend and 4 other similar pairs were seated in a room waiting for a presentation by their colleagues
So in the presentation, the first thing they did was to distinguish themselves from pyramid scheme.
Not surprising considering the amount of negative coverage there is on such scheme.
Quickly establishing that what they are doing is fully legal, and there's no scam involved.
The speaker was rather eloquent and friendly, a 23 year old student from NUS business.
They labelled this as "network marketing", which basically means spreading by word of mouth.
Bottomline being "whatever we're doing is legal, so no worries"
And this form of sales is known as direct selling, which basically means eliminating all the cost involved in hiring middleman.
Next, the person asked whether we have a dream, or whether we want to break free from the mainstream long hours job that society has to offer. (same inducement again)
And after 10 minutes of talking about how economy is bleak and that their products are recession-proof, he begin to talk about their products
As they have a number of subsidary group under LFI, they venture mainly into health, skincare, fuel and jewellery industry. (all can be found on their webpage)
They showed the certification they received to prove that their products are safe followed by introducing testimonies of their product.
There was a total of at least 6 products but it probably took less than 15 minutes to get through it.
The last part of the presentation was the inducement into the organisation.
There's a Big and Small package to sign up for.
Basically, you buy a package of product (Big: $1.5k, Small: 300, I cant remember accurately) and you will become an agent authorised to sell these products.
The last part of the presentation is when they introduce the attractive renumeration structure and how the payouts are given.
Basically when you enter, you're just a member and for sales you make, you get bonus value(BV).
These bonus values will translate to your paycheck (how? i don't know)
But of course, purely based on sales alone, there's no way you can achieve those 5 figure salary they boast about within such a short time.
So, here comes the catch.
For every 3 person you recruit into your team, there's a bonus to be added on.
And for every 3 person in your "team" that achieve a higher hierachy (manager, director, sales director), you get bonus topped to your pay.
It's quite complicated but the gist is that there is a huge incentive in getting people to join your "team"
This is the basis of how MLM cum "network marketing" works.
Not network marketing in its true sense, but undeniably has the objective of it.

At the end of the presentation, we splitted up and were guided somewhere else to speak with our friends, where we were given a membership form immediately.
There quite a few other "managers, directors" came to talk and mingle with us, basically trying to convince us in a subtle way that "here's where the gold is"
At the end of the day, i left without signing anything.
I mean I already set out with the mentality knowing that such a revenue model doesn't appeal to me even though the money is.


Ok, just a few pointer on why i detest LFI.
First, main revenue for your agents does not come mainly from sales, but rather, the ability to pull more people into the business.
Second, paying for a package to enter the company simply does not make sense to me. In any case, if i want to be with the company, I should be able to determine how much stocks I want to get/sell.
Thirdly, the bonus value attached to the sales of product is way too low considering that you've already eliminated  numerous middleman fees, rental fees, and all the overheads.
Fourthly, I hate how the company 'sells' itself based on the promise that it is possible to generate high income and not focus on the products. It irks me that they are not product-centric, but rather company centric.
I'm against MLM, but I'm even more against LFI.
Fifth, I don't like how they portray LFI as the way to earn supernormal income if you work hard, truth is, it's not that easy to earn that much.


Oh well, regardless, it has been a really eye opening trip for me to see such MLM in action too.